Gambling Commission widens crackdown to target illegal operators' money and assets
The Gambling Commission said on 9 November 2026 that its enforcement efforts are expanding beyond shutting down illegal gambling websites to targeting the money, assets and business models behind illegal operators.
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The Gambling Commission said on 9 November 2026 that it is broadening its approach to tackling illegal gambling, moving beyond website disruption to focus on the finances, assets and business models supporting illegal operators.
The announcement marks the start of the first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, running from 9 to 13 November, a new international campaign led by the International Association of Gaming Regulators aimed at raising awareness of the risks of illegal gambling and strengthening collaboration between regulators, industry and law enforcement worldwide.
The Commission said it had briefed UK industry leaders at a CEO Briefing event and international partners at the International Association of Gaming Regulators Conference about the expanded strategy. Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations, said: “If you run an illegal gambling operation, we are coming after you, your business and your money.”
According to the Commission, the new approach will involve interfering with illegal operators’ entire business models, including disrupting their payments, hindering their advertising and stopping them obtaining the games and sportsbooks they rely on.
The Commission said that since January it has referred more than £40 million in suspected criminal funds to partner agencies for potential asset freezing, and continues to work with law enforcement to seize cash at illegal land-based gambling operations.
The regulator said progress so far in 2026/27 includes more than 1,000 cease and desist notices issued to illegal operators, 7.8 million URLs referred to search engines, 3 million URLs removed from search results, and 2,200 websites referred for disruption action. It added that URL referrals rose from 147,721 in the first quarter to 7.7 million in the second quarter, an increase of more than 5,000%.
The Commission said it will continue working with law enforcement agencies, the gambling industry, technology companies and the financial sector to identify and disrupt illegal gambling activity, with increased collaboration on intelligence sharing, early reporting, data and evidence support, and consumer protection.
The campaign follows the publication of new findings from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain and an updated illegal gambling dashboard, which the Commission said provide further evidence to support enforcement activity and track progress in disrupting illegal markets.